Crane



- INVENTOR Rojr n. Pon-ren ATTORNEY Jue 5,` 1945.

R R. PORTER CRANE Filed Dec.. l0, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RQY R. PORTER BY/.

ATTORNEY June 5, 14945. R. R. PORTER 2,377,443

CRANE l Y Filed Dec. l0, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGZT.

7 v 42 4 T 4, 13 Q4. l 32 1 4 z' zo INVENTOR R ov R'. Pa RTE R ATTORNEY Patented June 5, 1945 UN ITE-D STATES PTENT OFFI C E CRANE Roy R.Porter, Packanack Lake, N. J.

Application December 10, 1943, Serial Nin-M3309 9 Claims.

V Thel invention relates to cranes.

The :principal object of the invention is to pro'- vide a, crane particularly adapted for use in handling comparatively light loads, that is on the order of six to eight ton capacity, the parts of the crane being of extreme simplicity and all of standard construction and easily fabricated members.

A further object is to provide a crane that is operable in exceedingly cramped quarters and one in which the boom of the crane may travel in a complete circle.

Another important object isfthe provision of a singlepower shaft which carries the drums for carrying a drag cable and a hoisting cable, the operating means for these drums'x the means for rotating the boom, and the operating means for the boom rotating means. An additional object is to provide vfor the elimination of long gear trains, and yto provide agcrane in which all the mechanical operating parts are easy ofaccess.

A further object is to provide a-crane irl-which the parts are of light weight in comparison to the Work accomplished thus making the crane easily portable from a truck to a trailer or'vice Versa,'or for that matter to any location tovvhich it is desired to move the'crane.

In addition to the foregoing otheryobjects and advantages will become apparent as this specication proceeds. Referring tothedrawings forming a part thereof and in which preferred embodiments'of the invention are illustrated:

being of standardknown construction none is illustrated in detail and vfor thefsakeof simplicity various voperating levers and 'foot pedals I"hav been omitted.

Referring 'again to the drawings the'reference numeral |10 designates a 'frame whichmight be the body of a trailer or truck or any'otl'ler frame upon-which the crane is tov be mounted,

A ring bevel gear Il is mountedon the frame.-

This gear is of standard construction and part yof its teeth are machined'ofl to form an annular 55 path I2 for a series of rollers I3. There are'four of these rollersandfthey arelmount'edl on the. ends of axle members Illy-which form part of a fram for carrying the crane mechanism.

The ring is. undercut at l5 Ato' provide `an an` nular path for lipslS whichare formed on'blocks I1. 'These blocksarey bolted at-'iB to thenaxle members .Hi yand act to-pre-vent the frame :from tilting when heavy `loads are picked up orvset down.

Cross members IQ'weldedor otherwisesecured tothe axle members M complete the frame. Bearings '2U rare centrally located onthe axle members and these bearings carry the shaft2l upon which is mounted all of the operating mechanism'of the crane.. v

An auxiliary Aframe 22 is welded orotherwise secured tothe main frame and thsframe carries a standard motor and clutch housing unitv23. A sprocket 24 is fast to a shaft 25 driven by the motor 23 and 'a sprocket chain 26 passes over the sprocket `24 and a sprocket 21 secured to the shaft 2 I,

'Drums 28 and ZSare freely mounted on lthe shaft 2l, the drum '28 having a drag cable 3U wound thereon and the drumf29'havinga hoisting cable 3l wound upon it,` Clutches32 and `33 are 'formadas part'of the drums 28 and '29 and brake bands '34 and 35v pass over the clutches. The drums 28 and 29, their clutch and brake assemblies and sprocket 21 are mounted on the shaft 2 I betweenthe axle members I4.

Beyond the'axle members I4 conventional twin disc clutches 36 and 31 are mounted on the shaft Maand the rotation of bevel gears 38 and 39 is controlled by the clutches 36 and 31. The bevel gears 38 and 39 mesh with the teeth ofthe ring gear II. 'When the bevel gear 38 is clutched to the shaft 2lr `by its clutch 36 the main frame of the crane and the parts carried thereby will rotate in one direction and when the bevel gear 39 is clutched to the shaft by its clutch 31 the main frame will be rotated in the opposite direction.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that a l 360 movement of the main frame and the parts `carried vthereby may bereadily effected in either direction. It will `also be evident that all operatingparts, including thedrums and `their clutch and brake assemblies. and the bevel gears and their disc clutches are all carriedby the shaft 2id. `Well`known control levers are provided 'for the clutches 32 and 33 and 36 and 31, and conventional foot pedals are provided vfor the brakes 34and`35'.

The "hoistingboom 40 is pivoted at '4I`to lugs or plates 42 secured to the axle members |4 and carries at its outer end the conventional sheave 42 over which the hoisting cable 3| passes.

The means -for raising or lowering the boom may be varied. As illustrated in Fig. 1, a hydraulic boom hoist cylinder 43 is provided. A cable 44 is secured to a sheave 45 pivotally mounted at 46 in an A-frame comprising two pairs of legs 41 and 48. The legs 41 are mounted on the boom pivot 4| and the legs 48 are suitably secured to the main frame. Mounted on the pivot 46 is a larger sheave 49 to which is secured a cable 50, the other end of which is fast to the hoisting boom 40. With this arrangement the movement of the plunger in the hydraulic cylinder 43 is multiplied to obtain sufficient movement of the hoisting boom. Suitable mechanism operable by the shaft 2| might be provided for raising and lowering the hoisting boom or mechanism other than the hydraulic cylinder might be utilized.

Fig. 4 illustrates an arrangement wherein a power take-off from the truck engine might be used to drive the shaft 2| instead of the motor 23. A gear case 5| is located between the drums and 3|. This gear case containsa bevel gear 52 which is securedto the shaft 2| and meshes a bevel gear 53 secured to a vertical shaft 54 which has conventional connections to the truck engine or its main driving shaft. With this arrangement the motor 23, sprockets 24 and 25 and sprocket chain 26 would be eliminated. Otherwise the arrangement of parts would be the same.

Changes in details of construction and arrangements of parts such as would occur to one skilled in the art are to be considered as coming within the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A crane having in combination, a main frame, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main fra-me, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a horizontal shaft supported on said main frame, means carried by said'shaft for raising and lowering a load onvsaid hoisting boom, a ring gear upon which said main frame is rotatably mountedA for 360 movement, pinions mounted on either end of said shaft, said pinionsmeshing said ring gear, a vertical shaft, and bevel gears on said vertical shaft and said horizontal shaft whereby said vertical shaft rotates saidhorizontal shaft, said vertical shaft forming part of a power take-off.

2. A crane having in combination, a ring gear, a main frame supported on said ring gear for rotationalv movement through a path of 360, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a horizontal shaft supported on said main frame, a drum freely mounted on said shaft for carrying a cable connected to said hoisting boom whereby a load may be raised or lowered by said hoisting boom, a clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft, pinions mounted on either end of said shaft, said pinions meshing said ring gear, a vertical shaft, and bevel gears on said vertical shaft and said horizontal shaft whereby said vertical shaft rotates said horizontal shaft, said vertical shaft forming part of a power take-off.

3. A crane having in combination, a ring gear, a .main frame supported on said ringgear for rotational movement through a path of 360, a. hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a shaft supported on said main frame, a drum freely mounted on said shaft forcarrying a cable connected to said hoisting boom whereby a load may be raised or lowered by said hoisting boom, a clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft, another drum freely mounted on said shaft for carrying a cable to function as a drag liney another clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said second mentioned drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft. pinions mounted on either end of said shaft, said pinions meshing said ring gear, and means for rotating said shaft.

4. IAv crane having in combination, a. main frame, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a shaft supported on said main frame, means carried by said shaft for raising and lowering a load on said hoisting boom, a ring gear upon which said main frame is rotatably mounted for 360 movement, pinions freely mounted on either end of said shaft, a clutch for each of said pinions whereby either of said pinions may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft so that said main frame may be rotated through a path of 360 in either direction, and means for rotating said shaft.

5. A crane having in combination, a ring gear, a main frame supported on said ring gear for rotational movement through a path of 360, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a shaft supported on said main frame, a drum freely mounted on said shaft for carrying a cable connected to said hoist- .ing boom whereby a load may be raised or lowered by said hoisting boom, a clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft, pinions freely mounted on either end of said shaft, a clutch for each of said pinions whereby either of said Pinions may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft so that said main frame may be rotated through a path of 360 in either direction, and means for rotating said shaft.

6. A crane having in combination, a ring gear, a main frame supported on said ring gear for rotational movement through a path oi' 360, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a shaft supported on said main frame, a drum freely mounted on said shaft for carrying a cable connected to said hoisting boom whereby a load may be raised or lowered by said hoisting boom, a clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft, another drum freely mounted on said shaft for carrying-acable to function as a drag line, another clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said second mentioned drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft. pinions freely mounted on either end of said shaft, a clutch for each of said pinions whereby either of said pinions may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft so that said main frame may be rotated through a path of 360 in either direction, and means for rotating said shaft.

'7. A crane having in combination, a, main frame, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering said hoisting boom, a horizontal shaft supported on said main frame, means carried by said shaft for raising and lowering a load on said hoisting boom, a ring gear upon which said main frame is rotatably mounted for 360 movement, pinions mounted on either end of'said shaft, said pinions meshing said ring gear, a vertical shaft, means whereby saidvertical shaft drives said horizontal shaft, and a power take-off for rotating said vertical shaft.

8. A crane having in combination, 'a ring gear, an annular path formed on said ring gear, a main frame, rollers carried by said main frame engaging said annular path on said ring gear so that said main frame may be moved in a complete circle, an undercut portion formed on said ring gear, means carried by said main frame to engage said undercut portion and prevent said main frame from tilting, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, hydraulic means carried by said main frame for raising or lowering said main frame, a shaft supported on said main frame, means carried on said shaft for raising and lowering a load on said hoisting boom, means carried on said shaft for operating a drag line, pinions mounted on either end of said shaft, said pinions meshing said ring gear, and means for rotating said shaft.

9. A crane having in combination, a ring gear,

an annular path formed on said ring gear, a main frame, rollers carried bysaid main frame engaging said annular path on said ring gear so that said main frame may be moved in a complete circle, an undercut portion formed on said ring gear, means carried by said main frame to engage said undercut portion and prevent said main frame from tilting, a hoisting boom pivoted on said main frame, means carried on said main frame for raising and lowering saidyhoisting boom, a shaft supported on said'main frame,

a drum freely mounted on said shaft fo'r carrying a cable connected to said hoisting boom whereby a load may be raised or lowered by said hoisting boom, a clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft, another drum freely mounted on said shaft for carrying a cable to function as a drag line, another clutch and brake assembly carried by said shaft whereby said second mentioned drum may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft, pinions freely mounted on either end of said shaft, a clutch for each of said pinions whereby either of said pinions may be clutched to or unclutched from said shaft so that said main frame may be rotated through a path of 360 in either direction, and means for rotating said shaft.

ROY R. POR'I'ER. 

